Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
PIB Imphal organises media workshop 
Journalists should try their best to give a true picture of government schemes, says Union minister RK Ranjan
Press Information Bureau, Government of India Imphal organized a one-day media workshop “vartalap” on improving government information dissemination to media while sensitizing them on various schemes and projects here on Wednesday.
Around 40 media persons from different media houses based in Imphal and other districts of Manipur participated in the workshop held at Dynasty Hall of Classic Grande, Imphal.
Union minister of state for external affairs and education RK Ranjan Singh while inaugurating the workshop as chief guest lauded the role of media work making people aware about various aspects of society through their writings.
He said that the media is an extension of the government. It plays a crucial role for dissemination of information regarding important government schemes.
Media is a powerful tool. It should be exercised effectively. Journalists should share in-depth information while disseminating about the schemes and projects, Dr Ranjan asserted.
The Union minister said that such workshops are helpful for the media to do developmental stories for the awareness of the society about various government initiatives meant for their benefit and upliftment while congratulating PIB for this initiative.
He said the flow of proper information is very important so that people get authentic information at the ground level.
Media has a key role in dissemination of various flagship programmes and welfare schemes, the Union minister reiterated and appealed to the journalists to try their best to give a true picture of the implementation of the schemes on the ground.
While highlighting the policy and programmes of the government, the feedback of the people also needs to be taken into account. It will act as an eye opener to the government as well, he said.
At the same time, he said that the official confirmation of sensitive news must be followed strictly as sometimes it is a matter of national security which cannot be compromised in any manner.
He elaborated that social media has taken over everything but what is required is impartiality while reporting. He further said that there are many challenges in reporting at ground level which can be faced through responsible journalism.
The real objective of journalism is to serve people with news, views and information and media in every situation must be unbiased and without prejudice, the Union minister observed.
He said that the media has a greater responsibility and a duty towards people and the balancing of news must be done to highlight the positive and negative aspects of news.
He also laid emphasis on development journalism and the various responsibilities connected to it.
The main objective of the workshop is to sensitize media on various schemes and projects of the government of India being implemented in the state, said B. Narayanan, additional DG, PIB, Imphal, in his keynote address of the workshop.
He stressed the need for making media persons acquainted with the schemes and projects so that they can disseminate information regarding important government schemes effectively to the masses.
Journalists have to play a bigger role in busting fake news spreading through mainly social media like fire. They have to verify the facts before presenting the report to the masses, he said.
The additional DG added that Vartalap is a medium to set up bridges between government and media in order to reach out to the people at grassroots.
K. Sonikumar Singh, assistant director, PIB Kohima welcomed the participants of the workshop while L Premlata Devi, MCO, PIB, Imphal thanked the participants.
Meanwhile, four resource persons elaborately explained about Imphal Smart City, National Education Policy 2020 and its impacts in Manipur, Health and Wellness and Plastics: waste to wealth at the technical session of the workshop.
K Japeth Chewang, OSD of Imphal Smart City Ltd talked on Imphal Smart City, Dr N Hemantakumar Singh, Senior Neuro-physician, Manipur Health Service presented his paper on Health and Wellness, Imo Thiyam, director CIPET, Imphal on Plastics: waste to wealth and L Nandakumar Singh , director of education , government of Manipur gave his speech on National Education Policy 2020 and its impacts in Manipur.
K Japeth Chewang while talking elaborately about the Imphal Smart City, said that one of the main goals of the smart city project is to make city living more efficient and productive – in other words, to speed things up.
It is a journey and not a destination, he said while highlighting various completed, ongoing and under tendering process projects as well as under pipeline projects of the Imphal Smart City.
The resource person, however, expressed concern over the less participation by the people in the project implementation while talking about the challenges being faced in the implementation of the project.
Active participation of the people is very much for the successful implementation of the project, he asserted.
In his speech on the topic ‘health and wellness’, Dr N Hemantakumar Singh said “We should not ruin our environment at any cost.”
He categorically defined the terms health and wellness, he said people often use the terms health and wellness interchangeably.
Although a person cannot have one and not the other, they are two different concepts that are quite variable, and their meanings are different, he said.
The primary difference between health and wellness is that health is the goal and wellness is the active process of achieving it.
“You truly cannot have health without first achieving wellness. Wellness has a direct influence on overall health, which is essential for living a robust, happy, and fulfilled life, he said.
Talking on the ‘National Education Policy-2020 and its impact in Manipur’, L Nandakumar, the new policy is giving emphasis to the foundation stage of learning.
It is the third generation of the education policy of the country and the new policy to align with SDGA goal ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, he said.
The new policy aimed at a gross enrolment ratio to 100%, bringing all children to schools, by 2030.
Plastic waste can be converted into valuable products through chemical recycling, said Imo Thiyam, director CIPET, Imphal who delivered his speech on “plastics: waste to wealth.’
He elaborately presented the impact of using plastic and stressed the vital role played by the chemical recycling in converting plastic into valuable products.
He, however, added that life cycle assessment of chemical recycling processes is a growing area..
The workshop was moderated by K. Sonikumar Singh, assistant director, PIB Kohima.